We are so blessed to live where we do. We have this incredible support system of friends who we’ve raised our kids with. The kind of neighbors who would do anything for you. Last week several families from the neighborhood pulled together an impromptu game night/BBQ at the park. I haven’t swung a bat in years. Made me feel like a kid again! Sometimes life gets so busy and we forget to make time for things like this. It made me so happy to see all these busy families drop everything to spend time together. The little moments matter. Especially to kids. These are memories in the making!

It’s been awhile since I’ve done family sessions. I’ve booked myself up for Fall because I have some new goals I’m trying to accomplish in my shooting. These goals are helping me connect and capture more genuine expressions and real moments. I’m loving shooting for others again. Hopefully I can figure out how to balance my time so I can do more.

I had a great session with this family tonight. This image brought a HUGE smile across my face. During this moment, the little guy had just fed the horse some grass and quickly pulled his hand back in surprise when the horse actually took it from him. I love his expression, his flexed left fingers that tell the story of him pulling his hand back in surprise, his mom’s hand ready to protect him from danger, his brothers smiles as they delight in the moment, and the walking stick he picked up along the way (such a boy). Happy, happy, happy image.

How can do a happiness project without mentioning my dad? Not possible! I took these images last month on my dad’s 78th Birthday. I love them so much! This man is one of the reasons I have the ability to find happiness in my life. He always made me feel like a million bucks, and still does. He gave me confidence as a child. He’s strong, noble, kind, and genuine to everyone he meets. I see that in his eyes when I look at these images. I am blessed to have been raised by him.

1 comment

Daralynn LettJanuary 30, 2016 - 10:46 pm

I love the pictures of your dad. I lost my dad to cancer in 2013. He was awesome as well! My only regret is I didn’t take enough photos of him.ReplyCancel

I know it looks like all the pictures I post of little K are of him naked in his diaper, but hey, that’s real life! He prefers to wear no clothes whenever he can get away with it. 🙂 When it’s just me and him at home during the day, this is what you’ll see.

Anyways, today this moment made me happy. He’s two and he loves to help me empty out the dishwasher. His favorite job is sorting the silverware. Today we listened to some jams on itunes radio and did chores together. I want to remember these times, me and him at home together. I know these days will go by fast. It will be a sad day when he (my last baby) goes to Kindergarten. I won’t know what to do with myself at home alone. For now, I cherish moments like this.

I shot these images back in July for my friend Kalyn who is now serving an LDS mission in Germany. I’ve wanted to get them up on the blog for awhile now and finally found time. Love this girl. She’s one of those people that exude happiness 24-7! I’ve been loving her letters. I’m so proud of her and all the 18-19 year olds I know who are sacraficing 18 mos-2 yrs to serve the Lord. I am always amazed at the spiritual transformation that takes place in these missionaries within that time. Blessings come to those who sacrifice and serve.

I needed a few images taken with my Lensbaby Composer Pro and Sweet 50 Optic to use in my review I’m writing for Click It Up A Notch this week. So I asked my cute friend Kristin if I could take some pictures of her adorable daughter Evelina. (Only the 1st image in this post was taken with that lens, the rest was with my Sigma 35mm).

I was on Cloud 9, not only to be able to shoot lifestyle images, but to shoot a beautiful little girl and her mommy. I love the connection between mothers and their children. It stirs something deep inside my heart. Reminds me of all the goodness of what it means to be a mommy myself.

Anyways, here’s my favs from the session. A huge THANK YOU to Kristin for your time and efforts in pulling together some props and cute outfits and for loaning me your cutie.

Lake Powell is a huge part of my family’s lives. We go 2-3 times a year and stay on our houseboat for a week each time. We love it because it’s truly a vacation for all of us. There’s no internet out on the lake, so we put our devices away and just focus on each other and creating memories. I have taken MANY images of the lake over the years and honestly when I think of what brings me joy, it’s these images that come to mind. This is one of those images that I looked over. It was taken with my daughter’s point and shoot water proof camera. Thus, the quality isn’t that great. But it’s what I feel when I look at this image that matters most. I was floating in the water at sunset alone, just soaking it all in….the moment, the soft light, the quiet of being alone with the faint sound of children laughing in the distance, the refreshing crisp water, the beauty in the sandstone mountains that surrounded me. To say the least, I was in my happy place when I took this image.

I took pictures of this sweet little angel today. Got my fix. Both for shooting lifestyle images as well as shooting little girls. I miss my girls being little. The light was lovely and her curls and big blue eyes stole my heart. (I’ll post the others from the session in another post so you can see her big blue eyes). I loved these two images because of the soft feel to them and the dramatic light. I left feeling fulfilled. LOVE lifestyle photography. It’s so me.

One of the greatest parts of attending Clickaway last week was having the chance to meet new friends. It was interesting, my friend Courtney and I (who I attended the conference with) just clicked with these ladies’ personalities. You know those friends that you instantly have inside jokes with? Yep, that’s how it was with them. We kept bumping in to each other several times, then we’d start talking, and laughing, like we’ve known each other all along. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t by chance we were all supposed to meet. I hope I can keep in touch with these awesome ladies. They were so fun. I realized after I got home how much I needed that trip. It was so nice to just be me. To feed my soul and not have responsibility for a few days. I was so immersed in all the photography goodness that I hardly stopped to eat! When I got home I had lost 5 pounds…ha ha. Making new friends and losing weight, now that’s what I call a good vaca! I realize I’m not in this photo, but someone had to get the shot before that amazing sun went down!